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NBC to air fundraising telethon for tornado victims

Blake Shelton arrives on the red carpet for the 2012 Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 1, 2012. UPI/Terry Wyatt
Blake Shelton arrives on the red carpet for the 2012 Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 1, 2012. UPI/Terry Wyatt | License Photo

OKLAHOMA CITY, May 24 (UPI) -- Blake Shelton is to headline the "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" telethon next week to aid Oklahoma tornado victims, NBC announced Friday.

The show is to take place Wednesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

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Shelton's wife Miranda Lambert and fellow country music stars Vince Gill and Reba are also confirmed as performers.

Additional guests for the concert will be announced shortly, NBC said.

"Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy," Shelton said in a statement. "This is why I want to do this special and especially hold it in Oklahoma City, which is near ground zero."

The event will raise funds for the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund, NBC said.

The natural disaster, which ripped through the town of Moore, Okla., Monday, killed 24 people, injured 240 and displaced tens of thousands.

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